Snacks That Make You Think Faster

For speedier afternoon thinking, which snack should you choose: A slice of watermelon or a chunk of cheese?

Reach for the watermelon. Why? People who eat foods that are high in healthy carbs but low in fats -- watermelon and other fruits being juicy examples -- seem to have faster brain processing speeds than people whose diets are low in carbs but high in fats. Carbohydrates are a critical source of the type of energy that brains need to perform. Fat, on the other hand -- especially saturated fat -- seems to gum up your mind (and that's before it settles around your waist).

If there's no fruit to be found, try turning on all your office lights full blast. Or, even better, go outdoors and get a dose of natural light: Light directly affects areas of your brain that are involved in alertness.

Yet another alternative: Bust out a stick of cinnamon gum or some peppermints. Cinnamon may decrease fatigue -- in studies, it rallied bored drivers, and your 4:30 meeting can't be worse than an endless ribbon of asphalt. Peppermint, too, is known to boost alertness.

If all that fails, imagine you're on a beach with a margarita in one hand and the latest Grisham novel in the other. Daydreaming, it turns out, keeps your mind flexible. By stirring up the part of your brain that handles imagination, you keep your brain running outside of its normal thought process, which keeps your cognitive function at its highest level. What you daydream about is up to you, whether it involves Hawaii, the corner office, or a throng of sweaty Chippendales dancers.